Shoe bottom unit and method of making the same



Anglo, 1937. Y WHELTQN 2,089,316

SHOE BOTTOM UNIT AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Original Filed March 24, 1932 Figz. 68

Patented Aug. 10, 1937 PATENT OFFICE SHOE BOTTOM UNIT AND METHODOF MAKINGTHE SAME John M. Whel ton, Peabody, Mass,

assignor to United IShoe Machinery Corporation, Paterson,

N. J.,[a corporation of New Jersey Original application March 24, 1932, Serial Nor 600,921. Divided and this application May 8, 1936, Serial No. 78,690

16 Claims.

This invention relates to improvementsin shoe bottom units and ofadhesiveror otherwise a reinforcingpiece of leather; fiber or similar. 15:;effectivelytoreinforce the shank portions of shoes andato facilitate the operations of lasting I the upper and'laying the outsole so as accurately to reproduce .the lines of the lastin the shank portions of thcshoes; the present invention provides 20, a-shoe bottom unit comprising separate reinforcing-and'stifiening members and-having-novel provision =for maintaining the members in assembled piece,: and ashank stiffener, the insole and the reinforcing piece being -"secured together by means of cement with the greater part of the shank stiffener interposed between them,

fener being-"located widthwise with respect to tures formed -either-"inthereinforcing' piece "or in the insole.

receiving apertures willbe formed in the rein forcing piece;

4 9; be formed in the'i'nsole.

AsiIIustrated, the invention also provides'af shoe bottom'unit adapted forassembly 'with" an: insole and comprising separate reinforcing and? stiffening 'members such as aheel and "shank'rein-j 4 5; forcing pieceand ametallic shank stiffener strip; the reinforcing piece being j apertured toreceive the opposite'end portions of thes'tifiener'strip.

Considered inanoth'er aspect the invention also methods of making reinforced insoles which consists incuttingout an provides an improvement in so;

insole; forming a: reinforcingzimember for the shank portionof the insole;,sformingin one of said. parts 7 two apertures: spaced lengthwise thereof,.inserting the opposite 'endrportions of ashank. stiffener,, in said apertures, molding the K "material. In order more the shank stif The heel'and shank reinforcing piece may be secured to the lower or lasting side" of'theinsole, in which case the shank stifi'enen or itma'y'be'seoured to the upper side'ofthe'insole',-in which case the apertures will insole and the reinforcing piece to impart thereto longitudinal and transverse curvatures corresponding to the longitudinal and transverse curvatures of the bottom of a last, and securing the insole and reinforcing piece together with the body portion of the shank stiffener interposed between them. V

In the use of an insole unit made in accordance with this method and embodying the features of construction hereinbefore referred to the unit is tacked or otherwise secured to a last, an upper is cemented on the last andits margins secured preferably by cement in overlas'ted relation to the insole unit, after which an outsole is laid and secured, for example, by means of cement to the overlasted margins of the upper. The apertures in the insole or in the reinforcing unit provide convenient and effective means 'for maintaining the shank stiffener in assembled relation to the other parts, with the greater part of the shank stiffener interposed between those parts leaving nofsubstantial amount of metal exposed at the lower or lasting side of the unit to interferewith the operation of lasting the upper margins or with the formation of a satisfactory bond between theinsole unit and theupper' margins or between the upper margins and the outsole, such an arrangement being particularly advantageous in the manufacture of shoes the soles of which have exceptionally narrow shank portions.

The invention will now be explained with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which Figs. land 2 are perspective views of an insole and aheel and shank'reinforcing piece, respectively, used reinforced insole showing the parts as they appear aiter having been coated with adhesive for use in securing them together;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a shank stiffener which is, to be incorporated in the reinforced insole; w

vFigs l and 5v are perspective views of the reinforcing member, showing the shank stiflener assembled therewith;

Fig. 6 is a. sectional view. taken along the line VIVI oft-Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view of molding apparatus which maybe employed for the purpose of molding the reinforced insole Figs. 8 and 9 are perspective views of the reinforced insole showing, respectively, the upper and lower faces of the insole; s I

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary sectional viewtaken along the line X-X of Fig. 9;

in the manufacture of my improved forced insole of modified construction showing, respectively, the upper and lower sides of the insole; and

Fig. 13 is a sectional view taken along the line XIII-XIII of Fi 12.

Referring to the drawing, the improved shoe bottom unit or reinforced insole 3|], best shown in Figs. 8 and 9, comprises an insole proper 32, a heel and shank reinforcing piece 34, and a metallic shank stiffener 36. The insole 32 may be made of leather or any suitable flexible insole material, while the reinforcing piece 34 is composed of relatively stiff moldable material, such as leather, fiber or leatherboard. Both the insole 32 and the reinforcing piece 34 may be cut to shape in any customary manner, for example, they may be died out or they may be cut by a rounding operation. Preferably, the reinforcing piece 34 is cut to correspondin outline to that of the. heel and shank portion of the insole. The shank stiffener 36 consists of a narrow strip 'of resilient metal which is initially curved longitudinally to correspond to the longitudinal curvature of the bottom of the last to be used in making the shoe in which the insole unit is to be incorporated. As shown, the front end portion of the reinforcing member 34 is skived or beveled to provide a thin forwardedge which willnot have any tendency to produce an undesirable ridge in the outsole of the shoe.

In order, to provide for maintaining the shank stiffener 3B in-assembled relation with the reinforcing piece 34 and to facilitate attachment of the shank stiffener to theinsole two openings of substantial width herein shown as circular apertures 50 are formed in the reinforcing piece for receiving the opposite ends of the shank stiffener.

Prior to the assembly of the shank stiffener with the reinforcing piece both the reinforcing piece'and the insole are coated with adhesive, for example, rubber latex, and allowed to set long enough to render the adhesive in proper condition for securing the parts together. As

indicated in Figs. 1 and 2,the adhesive will be applied to the entire surface at one side of the reinforcing piece and to a corresponding portion of the surface at one side of the insole, the adhesive coating upon the insole being indicated at 66 and that upon the reinforcing piece at 68%.

Before the reinforcing piece and the insole are assembled the opposite end portions of the shank stiffener 36 are inserted through the apertures 50in the reinforcing piece and the shank stiffener is adjusted longitudinally to bring its forward end into a desired predetermined relation to, herein illustrated as substantially flush with, the forward edge 44 of the reinforcing piece. The insertion of the longitudinally curved shank stiffener through the circular apertures 50 is effected without distortingto any substantial extent the adjacent material of the reinforcing piece or member 34 and imparts a longitudinal curvature to. the reinforcing piece which approximates that of the shank stiffener, as indicated in Figs. 4, 5 and 6. As shown, the shank stiffener has struck up at its rear end a single pointed spur or prong 10 which, during the molding of the reinforcing piece and the insole, is pressedinto and becomes embedded within the material of the reinforcing piece and thus functions positively to hold the shank stiffener against longitudinal displacement. Moreover, the pressure of the pointed tip of the spur 10 against the reinforcing piece serves toprevent accidental endwise displacement of the shank stifiener relatively to the reinforcing piece before the molding operation takes place. It will thus be seen that after the end portions of the shank stiffener have been threaded through the apertures in the reinforcing piece there has been produced, as a step product ofmy nethod, a shank stiffener unit consisting of the reinforcing piece 34 and the shank stiffener 36.

The shank stiffener unit just described is now ready to be adhesively secured to the insole and, as herein illustrated, this operation is performed by molding pressure which serves also to mold the shank portions of the insole and the reinforcing piece so as to curve them both longitudinally and transversely to correspond to the longitudinal and transverse curvatures of the bottom of the last. The molding and attaching operations are performed, as herein illustrated in Fig. '7, by the. cooperation of a rigid form 14 with a yieldable pad 16, the upper or work engaging surface of the form being curved both lengthwise and crosswise to accomplish the desired molding. Advantageously the form "and the pad '16 maybe incorporated in a molding machine, such as 'that disclosed in my copending application,

Serial No. 701,814, 1 filed December ll; 1933, upon which United States Letters Pate ent No. 2,065,465 In 'the moldingmachine above referred tothe was granted December'22, 1936.

insole and the reinforcing piece are assembledwith their edgesin alinement and both these are properlypositioned with respect to" the form '14 by means ofsuitable' gaging devices parts the construction and operation of which isfully disclosed in the ,copending application just. re-

ferred to. -In the-operation of the molding ma-. chine the pad I6 is caused to descend and apply pressure to the work and thereby tosecure the insole-and the reinforcing member together as well as to mold them to thecontourof the form.

.Upon release of the molding pressure the reinforced insole is removed from the'molding machine.

Preferably the opposite lateral edges alongthe shank, portion of thezinsole are re-- 'In 11, 12 and "13 there is shown a modified upper or grain side o-f an insole 320 so that instead o-f being locatedbetween the inner and outersoles of the finished shoe it will -;be located;

at the upper or inner sideof the insole where in the absence of a sock lining it will gaged by the foot be directly enof the wearer. -In an insole unit of this type it is convenient to formthe.

shank stiffener receiving apertures in the insole itself, as indicated at 500, instead of in the rein-..

forcing member. The opposite end portions of the shank stiffener 360 will, in thisinstance, be

thus causing-the main'or body portion .of the shank stiffener to be located between the insole threaded through the apertures 50!] in the insole, j

hereinbefore described. By constructing an in-{ sole unit with the heel and-shank reinforcing piece applied to its upper side as just described it is practicable to, channel the insole upon its lower or lasting side so as to'provide for the formation, of an integral lasting lip such as the lip: I84 in the' shank and forepart of the sole to whicha lasted shoe upper may besecured, as by meansof staples or the like, and thus held inplace during the setting of cement employed for securing the upper to the feather of the insole.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desiretosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is: i

1. That improvement inmethods of making reinforced insoles which consists in cutting out an insole, cutting out. a reinforcing member for the shank portion of the insole, forming in one of said 7 parts, two apertures spaced lengthwise of that part, inserting the opposite end portions of a shank stiffener in saidapertures, molding said insole and said reinforcing piece to impart thereto longitudinal and transverse curvatures corresponding to the longitudinal Vatures of thebottom of a last for a shoe in which the insole is to be incorporated, and securing said insole and said reinforcing piece together with the body portion of the shank stiffener interposed between them.

2. That improvement in methods of making reinforced insoles which consists in cutting out an insole, cutting out a reinforcing member having an outline corresponding to that in the heel and shank portions of the insole, forming two aperthe reinforcing member to arch them transversely, and utilizing the molding pressure to secure said parts together with the body portion of the shank stiffener interposed between them.

3. That improvement in methods of making reinforced insoles which consists in cutting out an insole, cutting out a member for reinforcing the heel and shank portions of the insole and forming apertures in said reinforcing member for receiving the opposite ends of a shank stiffener, applying a coating of adhesive to one side of said reinforcing member and to one side of the heel and shank portion of the insole, inserting the opposite ends of a shank stiffener through the apertures in said reinforcing member, assembling the stiffened reinforcing member and the insole with their coated surfaces in contact, and applying pressure to the assembled parts to secure them together and to mold the shank portions of the reinforcing member and the insole to a desired contour.

4. That improvement in methods of making reinforced insoles which consists in cutting out an insole, cutting out a reinforcing member for the shank portion of the insole, forming in one of said parts two apertures spaced lengthwise of that part, inserting through said apertures the opposite end portions of a shank stiffener having a spur upon the lower side of its rear portion, molding said insole and said reinforcing piece to impart thereto longitudinal and transverse curvatures corresponding to the longitudinal and transverse curvatures of the bottom of a last for a shoe in which the insole is to be incorporated, and by means of the molding pressure securing the insole and the reinforcing piece together with the body portion of the shank stiffener interposed between them and embedding said spur in the material of said reinforcing piece.

5. That improvement in methods of making shank stiffener units which consists in forming two apertures of substantial width in a reinforcing member for the shank portion of an insole in localities spaced apart lengthwise of said member, and threading through said apertures, without distorting to any substantial extent the adjacent material of the reinforcing member, portions of a longitudinally arched shank stiffener which extend in the general direction of the length of the stiffener.

6. That improvement in methods of making shank stiffener units which consists in threading portions of a longitudinally arched shank stiffener which extend in the general direction of the length of the stiffener through circular apertures arranged in longitudinally spaced relation in a reinforcing member for the shank portion of an insole, and molding the reinforcing member to fit the contour of the bottom of a last.

7. A shank stiffener forcing member for the heel and shank portions of an insole having two apertures extending therethrough and spaced apart lengthwise of said member, and a shank stiffener having its opposite end portions extending through said apertures in directions lengthwise of said stiffener.

8. A shank stiffener unit comprising a longitudinally arched reinforcing member for the shank portion of an insole having two apertures extending therethrough and spaced apart lengthwise of the reinforcing member, and a longitudinally arched shank stiffener maintained in assembled relation to said reinforcing member by having its opposite end portions projecting through said apertures in directions lengthwise of said stiffener.

9. A shank stiffener unit comprising a longitudinally arched heel and shank reinforcing piece having two apertures formed therein and spaced apart longitudinally of said piece, and a longitudinally arched shank stiffener having its opposite end portions extending through said apertures, said stiffener having a pointed prong formed upon its rear portion and held in engagement with said reinforcing piece in position to be subsequently embedded within the latter.

10. A shoe bottom unit comprising an insole member, a shank reinforcing member secured to the insole member, one of said members having two apertures spaced apart lengthwise thereof, and a shank stiffener interposed between said members and having its opposite end portions extending through said apertures.

11. A shoe bottom unit comprising an insole and a reinforcing member adhesively secured to the shank portion of the insole and having two apertures spaced apart lengthwise thereof, and a shank stiffener located between the reinforcing member and the insole and having opposite end portions confined within said apertures.

12. A reinforced insole unit comprising a relatively flexible insole having two apertures spaced apart lengthwise of said insole in its shank portion, a relatively stiff heel and shank reinforcing piece secured to the upper side of the heel and shank portion of the insole, and a shank stiffener interposed between the heel and shank reinforcing piece and the insole and having its opposite end portions extending through said apertures.

13. A shoe bottom unit comprising a lipped insole having two apertures spaced apart lengthwise of the shank portion of the insole, a reinforcing member for the heel and shank portions of the insole adhesively secured to the unlipped side of the insole, and a shank stiffener having its body portion located between the insole and the reinforcing member and having its opposite end portions extending through said apertures in the insole.

unit comprising a rein- 14. A reinforced insole unit comprising an insole member and a reinforcing member secured by means of adhesive to the heel and shank portions of the insole member, one of said members having two apertures spaced apart lengthwise thereof, and a shank stiffener located between said members and having its opposite end portions extending through said apertures, said shank stiffener carrying a spur which is embedded in the material of said apertured member.

15. A reinforced insole unit comprising an insole and. a reinforcing piece secured by means of adhesive to the heel and shank portions of the insole and having two apertures spaced apart lengthwise thereof, and a shank stiffener strip interposed between the insole and the reinforcing piece and havingits opposite end portions extending through said apertures, said shank stiffener having a spur carried by its rear portion and. embedded in said reinforcing piece.

16. A reinforced insole unit comprising an insole having two apertures spaced apart lengthwise of its heel and shank portion, a reinforcing piece secured to the upper side of the heel and shank portion of the insole, and a shank stiffener interposed between the insole and the reinforcing piece and having its opposite end portions extending through said apertures, said shank stiffener carrying a spur which projects into the material of said insole.

JOHN WHELTON. 

